Paktia health centers without medicines since a month

GARDEZ (Pajhwok): Officials in southeastern Paktia province are complaining that medicines have not been dispatched to health centers and clinics in the provincial capital, Gardez, and districts for the past one month.

Eid Mohammad Ahmadzai, the Chamkani district administrative chief, told Pajhwok Afghan News that there were six clinics in their district and all lacked medicines.

Syed Karam district chief Abdul Rahman Sulamal accused the NGO concerned of delaying the medicines’ supply. He said the organization supplied expired drugs after continued complaints about the lack of drugs from people.

“The previous contractor would at least bring about 50 percent of the required medicines but the new contractor has so far not brought even a single tablet,” he added.

Hazrat Ahmadzai, the district chief for Ahmadabad, said besides lack of medicine, no fuel could be delivered to the clinic’s ambulance for the past three months.

“Our clinics lack medicines even for first medical aid and the fuel contractors do not deliver fuel for ambulances,” Ahmadzai complained.

Zurmat district chief Hakim Waziri said six small clinics of the district had not yet been delivered with medicines by the new contracted NGO and it had negatively impacted the health facility.

Noorullah, a resident of Ahmadabad district, said he took a patient to the clinic for treatment but they had to return home without obtaining the prescribed medicine.

Other residents of Paktia held similar views about the issue.

Provincial public health director Walayat Khan Ahmadzai acknowledged the problem and said they had put pressure on Hewad NGO to deliver medicines, fuel and other required facilities to all clinics as soon as possible.

“The NGO should buy everything on first date of a month, we push them to deliver all the stuff soon,” Ahmadzai added.

But the new contracted NGO head Dr. Fazil Rahman Mangal blamed the issue on the Ministry of Public Health and said they had been given the contact too late.

Mangal told Pajhwok they had been trying hard to supply medicines and other required equipment to clinics within 10 days.

“The ministry should have contracted the NGO before winter and with a proper plan but despite this we try to resolve the issue in the earliest possible,” he added.